Visiting Arviat

One of the perks of my work is having to visit the communities I'm responsible for in the Kivalliq.

I was given the green light to visit Arviat, a community south of Rankin Inlet and a population size comparable.  My Monday and Friday was already spoken for which left only 2 nights and 3 days for my travel.  This already a red flag since traveling in the North is not a quick process.  In general, people can be delayed or missed flights anywhere from 2-5 days at a time. But being myself, I was determined to fly on a Tuesday and be back to Rankin on Thursday and attend to Friday's scheduled work.

Tuesday at 7:30 am I get a ride to the airport and I stay there till 4pm when my flight finally takes off.
Why?

For one, we are told each hour that another 10min and we are getting out of here.  However, 8 hours roll on and I could have probably had lunch and dinner at home or my office, and save the food I have packed for Arviat. Anyways, the food was consumed and I managed to land in Arviat at 4:30 which gave me 30 min to drop my stuff off and still introduce myself to everyone before the office closed at 5pm.

Wednesday was nothing greatly out of the ordinary, accept for not having hot water to shower in the morning.  I grab a kettle and a turkey roasting pot (as my bucket) and get my shower on.  This day will not be ruined by lack of hot water as long as I remain creative :)

The days went well and I really enjoyed my time in Arviat.  I spent on carvings, paintings and a wall hanging which are very different from the styles in Rankin.

I was hoping to spend my Thursday lunchtime with the nurses before my flight out at 1:30pm however, they got very worried that I have yet to call the airline and confirm my flight schedule.  So, when I called at noon, the answer was: "You need to come to the airport immediately!"

I borrowed cab money and took the taxi to the airport (a 5 min drive) and arrived in good time to....wait.  I sat at the airport from noon till 2pm ...at that time they loaded the plane.....I doze off only to wake up 1 hour later....and we are still on the tarmac. Yes, at 3pm, I was still in Arviat due to loading the wrong cargo onto the plane.  So finally at 3:30pm the plane takes off and I arrive in Rankin by 4pm.

Overall, mission accomplished and I managed to complete this trip on time and make it in for Friday's important meeting.  However, I could have used an extra day to discover the community.

I look forward to visiting Arviat again hopefully if the opportunity arises.

- R :)